Pot-smoking Mountie's Psychiatric Assessment Due In Court

An RCMP corporal who made headlines for smoking medicinal marijuana while in uniform will be back in a New Brunswick court today on an assault charge.

Cpl. Ron Francis was sent to the Restigouche Hospital Center in Campbellton last month for a 30-day psychiatric assessment following a confrontation with police officers in downtown Fredericton.

Lawyer T.J. Burke, who represents Francis, says Monday's hearing in Fredericton provincial court will determine whether his client goes on trial on the charge of assaulting a police officer.

"I believe you'll see a much different Mr. Francis than we did on Dec. 7 when he was sent to the facility, and the results will come back with respect to what the psychiatric assessment recommends," said Burke. "And that's one of two things – whether he's criminally responsible for his actions, or not criminally responsible for his actions."

In November, Francis was stripped of his RCMP uniform and placed on medical leave for smoking marijuana on video in his ceremonial gear. Francis had a prescription for the drug to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

On. Dec. 6, Francis was arrested in Fredericton after a confrontation with fellow Mounties and Fredericton police officers.

The RCMP had a Form 1 document, signed by a police doctor, that allowed Francis to be detained temporarily under the Mental Health Act.

Burke has previously questioned the RCMP's motives for seeking a psychiatric assessment of Francis.

"Was it a legitimate document? Was it a valid document?" asked Burke.

"Was it a document that was just created by the RCMP to see Mr. Francis sent away for 30 days so he would stop speaking about his issue with regards to medicinal marijuana to the press?"

While Francis has been stripped of his RCMP uniforms, he remains a police officer and has been placed on leave.

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16 Facts About Marijuana And The U.S. Economy

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The government would save an estimated $13.7 billion on prohibition enforcement costs and tax revenue by legalizing marijuana, according to a paper endorsed by 300 economists.

Marijuana growers account for $14 billion a year in sales in California, making it the state's most valuable cash crop, TIME reports.

It's estimated that illegal marijuana is a $36 billion industry in the U.S., MadameNoire reports.

About one-third of Americans say they think legalizing marijuana would boost the economy, according to a 2010 poll by Associated Press-CNBC.

The Sacramento News and Review saw a big boost in ad revenue when it offered advertising space for more than 60 medical marijuana dispensaries, enabling the publication to hire three additional employees, according to News 10.

Mendocino County, California's zip tie program aimed at regulating medical marijuana growing by charging permits for each plant raised $600,000 in revenue in for the Sheriff's department in 2011.

The city of Oakland, California raised $1.3 million in tax revenue from medical marijuana dispensaries in 2011, 3 percent of the city's total business tax revenue, according to The New York Times.

In 2011, Colorado pulled in $5 milllion in sales taxes from medical marijuana businesses, The New York Times reports.

Economist Stephen Easton estimated in 2010 that legal marijuana could be a $45 to $100 billion industry, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

When hydroponic marijuana growing supply chain weGrow opens a new store it creates an estimated 75 jobs indirectly, according to AZBusiness Magazine.

More than 60 percent of states agree with taxing marijuana, according to a poll by Associated Press-CNBC.

A Norwegian study 25 years in the making came to the shocking conclusion that frequent marijuana use lowers employees' motivation at work.

There could be more than 1,000 medical marijuana dispensaries operating in California, Pasadena Weekly reported in 2009.

As of July 2011, the city of Denver counted more medical marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks franchises.